The Dial House - Broadland

We booked, turned up a little early and had to wait a while for someone to seat us. There was one other table occupied so not sure why it took so long. The eclectic style was interesting if a bit chaotic. We sat at an old wooden table with feature chairs but I had to swap mine as it was really uncomfortable and not very well upholstered. We waited quite a while for service for each course, surprising as there was a max of 3 tables occupied at any one time. The food was good. Not exceptional but good quality, tasty, well cooked and presented. My partner's favourite course was his very good steak (locally sourced), mine was the fabulous cheese at the end the cheese itself was very good but all the extras were really interesting and different. The waitress was pleasant but we did feel as if the whole place was running without enthusiasm. No attempt at any personal touch or chat. No rudeness either. But given that so much effort has gone into the decor and fittings being so different and the food and reputation are so good, it felt a bit flat.

Had Lunch here with my mum and it was absolutely lovely, the food was so tasty and the staff were very friendly. Would highly recommend.

Really disappointed. After a wonderful experience last summer, I booked it for my mum’s birthday. Despite it not being busy, everything took forever. It took over 3 hours to have a roast and desert. It took ages to have our order taken and it felt like we’d been forgotten about. When the food came it was all ok, but the wait was infuriating. And, when it was time to pay, all the staff had already got their coats on or sitting down eating themselves. We felt like an inconvenience. After recommending the place to so many people as my last visit was so lovely due to the quality of food and service, I’m a little embarrassed if this is now the norm.

Having read good things about the Dial House we were looking forward to our Sunday lunch here but it proved to be very disappointing with us walking out after waiting an hour for our main course (which never did arrive! . We were on time , the order was taken promptly and the starter came quickly. There was then a long wait for mains and in spite of reminding staff nothing arrived. Frustrated we upped sticks , paid for our starters and drinks , received a half hearted sorry from a young lady at the front desk and headed off in search of a farm shop with our day’s plans ruined. I guess we won’t be going back.

Birthday Sunday lunch with my family, there were 7 of us. On arrival the dining area was not exactly warm and unfortunately as the temperature dropped outside so did the temperature inside. We normally would have finished lunch with a coffee but decided to go home for coffee and to warm up. There was a woodburner in the dining area but no-one was looking after this and it had gone out The food and service was great but the cold restaurant did spoil what should have been a nice Sunday lunch. My advice is only go when the weather is warmer!